Parents say

Kids say

Toxic Overwatch Players

I have been playing Overwatch for over a year. As everyone here has stated, the animated violence of this game is not bad at all. Much better than other games in this genre. There is one massive hole that I'm not seeing here that parents should be made aware of. The ESRB states that this game is rated "Teen" (http://www.esrb.org/ratings/Synopsis.aspx?Certificate=34210&amp;Title=Overwatch). However, if you read a bit deeper you see "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB". For parents that don't know, this game is ONLY online. I.e. they can't play it without other human players. Since this is an online game and ESRB does not rate online interactions one might assume that "this is a good game for my teen".
In short, some players in this game very toxic and your teen WILL be exposed to this. What do I mean by toxic? First off, the language. If any one character in the game said some of what these people say this would get smacked with an "M" (in some cases, worse). Some say that toxic players say things like "too ez" after winning a game, that is not what I'm talking about at all. Those people are just poor sports. Toxic players are much, much worse...
Second, insults and personal attacks are very common. The anonymity of the game (as with the web) brings out the worst in people.
I'd like to close with a few things:
* The toxic players are in every online game, even games like Minecraft. If your child plays online they are exposed to this.
* Blizzard has done some things that make it so blocking players doesn't work (no, you can't effectively block these toxic players because people were blocking "good" players). This is a choice Blizzard made. There is a "block player" command but I haven't seen it work, I still end up playing with people I've blocked...
* There is a reporting feature in Overwatch. I'll leave it up to the reader to do a Google search to determine how effective reporting this to Blizzard is.
* You can do some muting (voice and text). It has been my experience that this is near useless, especially in Competition where it is expected you have a mic (team communication is very important in this game). This is where most of the Toxic players end up. I don't play Competitive matches anymore. You are guaranteed a toxic player (very likely more than one; like on the school yard they "gang up and feed off each other").
I haven’t heard of anyone being banned from Overwatch for anything other than game modification (cheating). Blizzard knows if cheaters infest the game that people will leave. Either you cheat or you lose. To be clear, I can understand Blizzard’s position; a ban is major. Someone won’t be able to play the game anymore after buying it. But, perhaps, the solution isn’t to just throw up your corporate hands and say “well, there is nothing we can do” or “this is in every game so we won’t do anything”. More monitoring on the part of Blizzard is necessary.
I just wanted others to know that ESRB and the other statements here are correct but missing (IMHO) a very vital component which is the online play. Remember, this isn't just Overwatch (the only online game I play, likely the last). I’m sure all online games are like this but I would hope that other companies who support these games do a better job than Blizzard at dealing with these players.
Want some entertainment? Google "youtube overwatch toxic player" and watch a few. Then realize that those are the ones that got recorded, most don’t.
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I would like to say, i went in to the blizzard control panel and blocked my sons (and my own) voice. I have tested for the last hour and I haven't heard a peep. While i've blocked players that are toxic in text chat, it is nowhere near as bad now that I have made it so that audio is completely blocked. It is a fun game, your kids will like it. You, as a parent, need to block this however.

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This review...

A great game, for older teens.

As an adult all in all I think this is a great game. Honestly I love to waste time on it, it has many complex themes and a handful of good characters to aspire to be like.
Though, I am concerned about the amount of younger children who play this game. This is not a game for children. While at face value it's a friendly FPS the more you dive into the story side of the game there are themes of death and violence. The voice lines are usually tame, but some of the characters offhandedly mention alcohol to each other, threaten possibly killing each other and are generally at each others throats.
Also, the competitive mode is not a good place for children, as people can get very upset if someone is playing badly and begin shooting off at the mouth. Heck, I've heard children even being disrespectful and running their mouth on there. My suggestion is if you are going to let children play, don't let them have mics and go into the settings and turn off the chat options.
Online interactions are not rated by the ESRB, so treat it as a rated M game. People online will not hesitate to tease your kid, especially if they decide to run their mouth.

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Really fun game my son plays

Basically, I wasn't sure about this at first when my son wanted to get it. But after watching it, decided to get it. I have played it a few times and is super fun, especially using Reaper and Widow maker. My son loves it. Some cleavlage and skin tight suits and some inappropriate custom private matches, along with mild blood if enemy is hit and very sci-fi weapons, with some being basically a unrealistic freezer gun that can shoot ice. Some mild swearing like hell and D*mn, but very rare. Again, very fun.

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Violence & scariness

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Great game

If your kid is interested in this kind of game it's a great starting point. There's nothing bloody or graphic, it promotes team play, and it's a very postive game overall, especially compared to others in the genre.

PG

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Great online shooter

Overwatch is a once in a lifetime online game. It's cutesy and fun gameplay make for a fun time with family, and though there is cartoon violence, there is no blood whatsoever but when your child is playing online you have to watch out for the open chat ( swearing). Otherwise, it is perfect for tweens and up and I would definitely recommend getting this for your child.

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Funny and engaging game

I never expected my 6 and 9 y.o. daughters to get so engaged in Quake alike 3D first person shooter, but they are doing great. Even my 3 y.o. seem to enjoy practice range and some basic controls, like W, S and mouse.
Anyway, technically violence is very mild, there is no blood and gore, the game is bright and engaging. However, typical Quake concept of running around shooting people and respawning (i.e. reversibility of death) could be a little bit disturbing. They do seem to understand the concept of pretend violence in the form of cyber-sport and they are OK with that.
Both of them have tried M rated shooters, like DOOM and Dead Space 2/3 and they don't like them at all, mostly because of setting, visuals and the form of enemies, even though they are technically capable of playing them.
Back to Overwatch. I would rate the game as 6+, with some form of parental guidance, but only in Practice vs A.I, Arcade and Quick Play modes, without microphone and with chat disabled in settings.
Competitive mode is for 16+ only. Folks are getting really upset there. Swearing and insults are commonplace and, you know, online conversations are not rated by ESRB.

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Not for young children.

The reason this is 18+ is because of mics. Whether it be quick play or competitive your child and talk with adults if they have a mic. Commonly in the game chat people with curse and use adult language around other children. You might ask "Can't you just turn off the game chat/not use it?" The answer is yes. But, especially in competitive you NEED mic for communication. If you don't a mic you are essentially throwing the game. In Overwatch team play really matters and without communicating it'll be near impossible to win a game.

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Why Overwatch should be 16+

Okay for starters i don't think children under 16 can't actually play this game. I'm playing this game myself and have had encountered 11 year olds who just outplay me. I just want to point out, that children under 16 are very inconsitent in their game quality. The percentage of children whojust play because its fun is high. Nad theres nothing wrong about playing games for fun.
My Point is: If youre under 16, don't play any renked competetive game. Its frustrating to see, that people let their kids play a team-based game without these kids even knowing what to do and when to do it. Its hard to describe, but when you get thrown in a lobby with 5 underage kids, all screaming in voice-chat, you immediately give up and know, that you cant win.
No tactics, no combos, they just play for themselves. If you do that in Quickmatches, no Problem, but you give other players a bad game experience when you trow games just because you are unable to team up properly. You want good teamplayers? You want children to cherish and understand teamwork? Then train them yourselves. Dont push that resposibility onto a game.
In all seriousness: People here are suggesting this game for 8+. I've got to tell you something: "Are you right in your minds?" - Are you really expecting 8-year olds to be capable of killing each other in a game (Even tho its not bloody) and still have a straight mindset?
Adding to that, please consider a look at the ingame-chat and whats usually written there. Theres so much flame and insulting going on that it could be harmful. It acutally is harmful even for grown-ups sometimes to be honest.
Regards

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it's great for an hour maybe 2 then you realize

So I got this game due to all the hype and everyone I know saying it's amazing. It's true for the first ten games then you realized you wasted about 40-60$ as most free games have more content. No offline or anything other than pvp. (Which would be ok if it had waves of creeps, like don't 2 or league of legends. But nope sadly You Get nothing. Like the total amount of content if you wanted a moba.) But If you want to play a game where you walk around a corner and get instantly killed by someone looking the other way than yes game of the year.
Wasted good time on this and very happy I was able to get a refund. 10$ would be a fair price for the content. 20-40$ might be acceptable if they had a split screen, which they dont.
So if you want to play with you kid this game won't work, Also if you want to hear people yelling for your kid to get gud this is the game for you. talk about a toxic community. Even dota players are nicer.
Teen game with a mature community ( meaning M rated as they are not mature besides the profanity that they say cant be helped.) horrible people that'll make you wonder why people talk so highly about it.

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Appropriate, Fun Game

I have been playing this game going on 2 years now and it is a fantastic game that promotes team play and cooperation. There is no gore and very little blood with no offensive language present in the game. Players can choose interact with random people who are on their team by joining game chat, and other players can sometimes use offensive language and/or be extremely insulting. There is an “avoid as teammate” option for players who you found offensive, rude, and/or insulting.

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classic shooter

Some smoking and alcohol references are evident. The gun toting character Mcree smokes too many cigars I am surprised he never gets ill! The maps are littered with empty beer and wine bottles.
Violence is the main component but there is no realistic blood or guts to speak of and so if the smoking and alcohol references are acceptable then this game is suitable for ages 9 and upwards.
Voice chat is available but can be disabled.

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Solid, mostly clean FPS. Almost all of the story and positive messages comes from online media.

As far as first person shooters go, Overwatch isn't very intense, with only mild (but common) violence, and some sexualized character designs. The games' story is told through free online short animations and comics, so any positive or negative messages or themes are expressed outside of the actual game.
Violence: Players use all sorts of firearms to dispatch each other, but no actual gun brands are used. Instead, most weapons are futuristic laser guns. That being said, some characters still use bullets, and there are even a few melee weapons, like maces and swords. successful attacks are highlighted by small splashes of blood. The most violent imagery in the game comes from the use of a bow and arrow, as the arrows will imbued themselves in the enemy's body, and stay there, leading to some slightly grisly images, such as an arrow sticking out of a corpse's head.
Sexuality: Some female characters wear revealing or tight fitting clothing.
Positive messages/role models: The game's multinational cast is very diverse, with many races and both genders being represented by heroic figures. The cast also includes several homosexual characters. The online story generally teaches tolerance and promotes selflessness, with the main conflict centering around the struggle of a race of self aware robots to be considered equal to humans. (Paralleling racial struggles in real life.)
language: Mild cusses like "H**l" "D**m" "B*****d" are occasionally spoken by the characters. Players can use some mild swears in the text chat, but the heftier curses will be censored into asterisks (unless this feature is disabled in the options.) Still, there is nothing stopping players from using inappropriate language in voice chat.
Consumerism: Players receive cosmetic items indirectly through "loot boxes" which are unlocked by playing the game for a certain amount of time, and will give the player four random items when opened. Alternatively, the player can buy them with real money, and there is still no guarantee they will get the item they wanted.
tobacco use: One character is constantly smoking a cigar.

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The gameplay is just pristine

The game play in the video review does not justify how violent this game is l. It encourages team play and shorting people in order to kill them . Some of the voice lines characters say are very inspiring. When I bought this game for my kid I said “Scoot your butt over let me try!” That is now why I yell in the middle of the night. The rank I play at is very competitive it says in the game that I’m in the 1%of players. This game is really really really really hard. It is easy to play hard to master.

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Please read this review

I rated this game 11+ for violence and bad language, violence 3/5 when you kill human players there is a small chance you could see some blood, this game allows you to use a variety of weapons to kill enemy players, bows guns, swords, rocket launchers, hammers and lasers, though the game is cartoony.
Bad language 4/5 you can speak in game chat, leaving you vulnerable to bad language, though this can be turned off in settings.
Please don't be like other parents and buy your 5 yr old this game.

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